Question time: My failing golden berberis

Share via

This plant is beautiful, but its very good looks make it easy to miss the diseases that can strike its vulnerable leaves

Q I have a golden berberis (Berberis thunbergii “Aurea”)
in a bed that gets sun and shade. In the spring it looks lovely, but as the
summer progresses, the leaves have a tendency to turn black and fall off. I
clip it into a ball shape in the spring. Do you think this is happening
because of lack of water? What am I doing wrong?

Mrs K. McDonald, West Berkshire

A What a striking plant this is, so bright and yellow in spring, if less so
later. One predictable problem with golden-leaved plants is that it’s hard
to spot diseases